Modwright SWL 9.0SE Pre ... your thoughts welcome

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences and impressions of the SWL 9.0SE.

This is our first foray into manufacturing and I have spent quite a bit of time working on the design and build to be sure that it was what I wanted. Thank you for appreciating the time and energy that went into it.

The 9.0SE is meant to represent state of the art performance at a price that is accessible to more audiophiles than its competition.

I am actually an Engineer also, having worked in consulting as a Mechanical Engineer for seven years prior to launching ModWright LLC (now ModWright Instruments, Inc.) in 2000.

The build is purposely solid and simple, as are its aesthetics. It represents our mission statement: Elegance, Simplicity, Truth.

Our dealers are critical to our success, manning the front lines of customer service. I chose to have our product represented in this way (rather than just internet-direct) because I want people to be able to see, hear and evaluate the unit before they purchase. We do not offer a return policy, but we do offer a strong 5-year warranty.

Echo Audio is our Portland, OR dealer and represents the customer service and passion that ModWright Instruments is all about. Kurt is a great person and passionate audiophile. I am happy to hear that he made your auditioning and ultimately buying experience a good one.

The purpose of this post is meant to thank all of you for sharing your impressions of the 9.0SE and explain a bit about who we are and how the 9.0SE came to be what it is. I am sorry if this sounds like self-promotion, as it is not meant as such.

Parts selection IS critical to a good design, as is reliability, build quality and craftsmanship. Cost is a concern when building any product that is to be taken to market. Cost concerns should not dictate the sound of the finished product however. We made judicious use of the best quality components in critical locations. This DID raise the price from my intial targe of $1500, but the result speaks for itself.

Craftsmanship is critical and I rely on skilled technicians to build our product, in-house. Thank you Brent, John and Bob!

We do not have our products made over-seas and I personally Q/C the products leaving our shop.

Again I want to thank all of you for your support, feedback and reviews. You have helped make our 'freshman' product a success.

Take care,

Dan W.

Nice review.

I've had mine mixed in with a bunch of different gears and it's sounded great with all. Don't be afraid to toy! :)

Congratulations on your new, baby, um, preamp.

I have my SWL 9.0 SE (hotrodded with a few extra Dan niceties) running my Modwright 999ES Platinum SACD/DVD player and soon to be Modwright modified DVD-A player (getting the idea here I like Dan's work), and running it to a Modwright Krell (just kidding about the Modwright this time).

Dan's work is impecable, his customer service is top-notch (had an issue with my SWL and he repaired it and sent it back in no time, no $$) and his value is ridiculously high, especially in this world of diminishing returns hi-end.

I, too, met Dan Wright personally at the 2005 RMAF in Denver. What a personable, enthusiastic, talented, yet humble person. I spent most of my time during this event in Dan's room listening to music because it sounded BETTER than most vendor's systems at the show (many costing a zillion (well, you get the picture) times more than Dan's show rig).

After many years with an ARC LS-3 ss line-stage preamp in my system (in my opinion no slouch of a pre), I went to the RMAF to hear the ModWright and to get away from work for a while. Well, to make a long story short I bought the SWL 9.0 SE that Dan was using in his show system. We discussed the purchase in a fun, casual, yet businesslike manner. He offered me a very fair price which included a pair of "green" cryo'd Tung-Sol 5687 NOS tubes. The unit was in perfect physical and electrical condition at the show and sounded superbly musical on all counts without any glitches.

I have been so damn busy at work with budgets and other crap to have put enough hours on the tubes for break-in, but can, without hesitation, say that this is one incredible audio product that has transformed my audio system into a true music system. Music enjoyment is what this investment is ALL about. I can only imagine what my system will sound like when I have the requisite 50 hours that Dan recommends for the Tung-Sols to reach their full potential.

My final comment: the one thing that just amazes me to no end is how my loudspeakers, which are physically quite large, just disappear without drawing attention to a false sense of left and right. Just the musical performance remains which is the ultimate reward for me!

Thank you Dan for your hard work and true committment to your profession!

Received my SWL 9.0 SE and with about 50 hours on it I am amzed at what an improvment this is on my system. Clarity, and incredible presence of the music. One of the things I love about it is the improvement of resolution at low volume levels. Incredible! One of my best purchases in years.